Meteor Showers
by KeybladeKatChan
Summary: Does Riku have it in him to confess to Sora? Maybe a meteor shower will give him the moment and the courage that he needs. [Set after KH3, spoilers if you squint?]
1. Chapter 1

Ok, so it's been like 9 years since I've written any sort of fanfiction and this might be the most tame thing I've ever written. No one even swears! Rated T for fluff but nothing heavy, just some cuteness. Also I'm very aware my punctuation is terrible, please forgive me, but enjoy the fic! I love these two so much.

Also these breakers are gross but FF doesn't want me to have normal breakers.

**Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine, let me cry in peace.**

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It was almost a year to the day since Xehanort had been defeated and they all returned to their "normal" lives. Normal in this case was particularly subjective, they'd been through too much to consider anything normal anymore. They each had their own nightmares, but found solace in the bonds, relationships and friendships they had made. It made them stronger, and though Riku felt stronger because of these things, he also felt an ache in his gut. Sora had left and returned with Kairi, and being gone for those 7 months gave Riku a lot of time to think about what he really wanted. He discovered what the true light in his heart really was, and it was Sora. Plain as day, goofy grin and aloof attitude included. But how was he supposed to express that to his best friend? Could he even risk opening up like that? Probably not. Sora was in love with Kairi, and that was the main cause for the ache in Riku's gut and the twist in his stomach. Maybe he could never tell Sora… or maybe he didn't have the strength left in him to keep it a secret anymore.

R-S-R-S-R-S

Riku lounged at the port, watching the sun slowly dip behind the horizon, just the very bottom of it rippling against the water. Sora was late… again, there was a meteor shower tonight and Riku had told Sora to meet him at the dock at 6 o'clock. As Riku looked down at his gummi phone he let out a long sigh, 15 minutes late already. If Sora didn't arrive in another 5 minutes, he was leaving without him.

Not a minute later Riku's head lifted at the call of his name, Sora was running towards him, his hand raised high in long waves and his usual smile spread across his face. "Riku!" He called again and skidded to a halt in front of his best friend, hands on his knees to catch his breath. He finally lifted his head to grin but it faltered as he took in Riku, face stern in annoyance, arms folded across his chest in disapproval. "Come on Riku, I'm not _that_ late" Sora tried to plead but Riku's expression didn't change. Sora stood straight, scratching his head like he always did when he was nervous. "My mom asked me to take out the trash _just_ as I was leaving, then she made me bring sandwiches so I had to find my backpack," he continued in a more apologetic tone, Riku's eyebrow lifted in expectation. "I'm Sorry," Sora finally offered, clasping his hands together in front of his chest and giving his best puppy eyes. Riku sighed and smirked.

"Just, get in the boat" he half smiled, shaking his head in amusement as Sora cheered. "And I get first pick of those sandwiches," he concluded. This gained a rewarding pout from Sora, Riku knew he hated tuna and he also knew Sora's mother would pack some in their rations, so he'd make him suffer on the idea that Riku would stick Sora with the tuna sandwiches… they both knew he wouldn't.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors for who rows?" Sora perked up, Riku looked out onto the horizon again, the sun was almost half gone, allowing a dark blanket to cover it from above. Sora wouldn't be able to row fast enough to get there in time and set up the blankets before the shower.

"I'll row, just hurry up" Riku chuckled and Sora's eyes lit up with glee, "your laziness is showing" Riku mocked, and Sora sent a dig of his elbow into Riku's side as he passed him and carelessly threw his backpack into the boat.

Once settled, Sora unhooked the tether and pushed off from the dock with as much force as he could manage without falling into the water and they began the short journey to the island in calm silence.

R-S-R-S-R-S

"Kinda surprised Tidus didn't come," Sora said as they docked the boat on the island and started unloading the packs and blankets "he's a real stargazer" he laughed.

"Well, I asked him but he said he had a good spot on the field behind his house, so I didn't push it, apparently it's something him and his dad do."

Sora shrugged, "more blankets for us, it's kinda chilly tonight" he said and turned to face Riku as he hoisted his backpack onto his shoulder, and made sure the blankets he was carrying didn't trail the floor. "Hey Riku, you alright?" he asked, brow knit in concern at Riku's thoughtful face, he'd seen that face enough times to know something was bothering Riku, but the other boy smoothed it out and smiled at Sora in response.

"Yeah, I was just thinking where the best spot would be, I think our usual will be enough," he replied as he climbed out of the boat, his muscles flexing as he pulled himself onto the dock and Sora didn't realise that his gaze lingered a little longer than it should have.

R-S-R-S-R-S

"Hey, did you ask Kairi to come?" Riku asked, laying the blankets flat in front of the base of the twisted Paopu tree they always sat at. Sora propped his bag on the tree and pulled out two sandwiches wrapped in saran wrap, holding them in front of Riku with a small pout, expecting his doom from Riku's choice of sandwich.

"Yeah but she wasn't interested, I think her and Naminé were gonna call Xion on their gummi phone tonight since it's the only day they've all had time to chat thanks to the time difference," he offered, and grinned as Riku took the tuna sandwiches with a knowing look. "But hey, we haven't hung out just the two of us since way before we left the islands," he concluded and Riku swallowed, glancing away and towards the darkening waters below his dangling feet.

"True" he answered, a sullen look on his face that Sora could still see, Riku's hair wasn't long enough to hide his emotions anymore and Sora's brow furrowed, then with a mischievous look on his face he pressed a cold can of soda against Riku's exposed neck. The older boy gasped in shock and recoiled while placing a hand over the cold abused spot as Sora let out a loud train of laughter. Riku pouted, but took the offered can and cracked it open as Sora sat down beside him, legs crossed and blanket lay across him as a hammock for his soda and sandwiches. "So…" Riku paused awkwardly, tapping his fingers against his open can "how does it feel, being back? Have you adjusted?"

It's something they'd spoke about a couple of times since Sora's return almost 5 months ago, but it was usually met with a quick answer and even quicker change of subject. Riku had been regaled the tale of Sora's search but when it came to discussing how he was coping Sora said very little- which didn't really surprise Riku, Sora didn't like to think people worried about him and he gave them very little excuse to do so. What he didn't know was that Riku worried about him constantly, because sometimes his eyes didn't shine quite as bright, and sometimes he'd look so distant Riku wondered where he was in that moment.

Sora took a bite of his sandwich and looked up at the stars. They were bright, and twinkling, and a reminder of all of the places Sora had been. He sighed, as if admitting defeat, and looked at Riku, a small apologetic smile on his face and Riku couldn't tell if it was because Sora had kept it a secret from him, or if it was because he was about to tell him what he never wanted to admit. "It's… tough" he finally said "sometimes I wake up and wonder where Donald and Goofy are and why I'm not in the gummi ship trying to figure out the next step to fixing things." Sora looked down at his hands, palms facing upwards and resting limply on his knees. "But sometimes I feel like… I feel like" Sora's voice stuck in his throat, too scared of his next words to actually speak them.

"You feel like it gave you purpose," Riku finished for him "because when you did all those things you knew you were helping people, and now that it's over you're not sure what to do anymore, or if you even know who you are anymore."

A long silence spread across the empty sea air. "Just so you know, I know you better than anyone. You're still you, even if at your deepest core you feel different, I know that Sora is Sora," Riku nodded in assurance and Sora let a teardrop fall into the palm of his hand, half relieved that he was finally able to admit it -the one thing that had been tearing him apart inside since he returned- and half because Riku knew _exactly_ what he wanted to say, and Sora never wanted Riku to feel this anguish that he felt, because it hurt too much to feel it, but it hurt even more knowing that Riku felt it too.

"Sora, look" Riku pointed at the sky, a shower of meteors shot across the stars in long stripes and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Sora looked up too, taking in the sight of this wonder, one he hadn't seen or appreciated in almost a decade. His eyes shone with wonder and struggling tears, with his guard down he didn't notice Riku move and place a thumb on his cheek, wiping away a stray tear that clung to his skin. Sora turned to face Riku, his expression unreadable as he looked at his best friend who looked so _apologetic_, as if he should have known that Sora was hiding this from him. Sora wanted to look away from those sorrowful eyes, but the comfort of Riku's hand kept him in place.

Without much thought and even fewer words Riku leaned forward, capturing Sora's lips with his own. He could taste the salt of Sora's tears on his lips, wetting them from the dry sea air. The contact was chaste, lingered longer than it should have, and Sora was the first to pull back from the kiss, confusion swimming in his eyes, a look that Riku misconstrued as betrayal the moment he opened his eyes and saw how Sora stiffened.

Neither of them was sure how to break the tension, Riku's hand was still on Sora's cheek and finally Sora inhaled a shaky breath, leaning further back to break the contact entirely. "Maybe… we should head back, it's getting cold out," he stood and brushed himself down, the unopened can of soda fell into the water and the sound broke Riku from his thoughts long enough to nod and right his posture. He stood, collected the blankets and silently followed Sora to the boat. Neither spoke until they were docked at the port again. Sora jumped out first, tied the rope securely to its post and gave an awkward smile to Riku though he dared not look him in the eye. "Night, Riku" he said quietly, with as much of a normal carefree tone as he could muster though it wasn't convincing, and left before he could hear Riku's response.

Riku watched Sora go, words caught in his mouth and an apology building in his mind. He hadn't _meant_ to kiss Sora, his heart had told him to do it so he did, no questions asked. He wasn't sure whether he had neglected the thought of rejection or if he just hadn't prepared enough for it. Either way Riku hated himself now, and he had no idea how to reconcile this with Sora.

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A/N: Oops Riku. /

Reviews are welcome. 3


	2. Chapter 2

Please don't mind what happens in this chapter. I don't like Kairi but I wanted to give her a bit more personality than the actual game does.

**Disclaimer: Still not mine. Still crying about it.**

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The next couple of weeks passed by awkwardly, Sora avoided Riku at every turn and holed himself up in his dad's woodcarving shed for most of it. Riku spent most of his time with everyone he thought Sora wouldn't take the time to hang out with, or alone on the islands, though every time he spotted his best friend he'd try to say 'hi', but the boy would be gone before he could say anything. Riku's spirits were at an all-time low, and Terra pat him heavily on the shoulder in comfort, even if it didn't provide much of what he was offering.

"Want to tell me what happened? Contrary to what people think, I'm a good listener" he smiled at Riku and the boy couldn't help but smile back. Terra had this amazing presence, he was like a contagion, everyone he spoke to became cheerful and everyone he smiled at smiled back, because there were no hidden agendas behind Terra's words and smiles. He was an airhead, but he was sincere in every way. He kinda reminded Riku of Sora, maybe that's why he'd started spending time around him. The chocolate brown hair helped keep the illusion, even if Terra was taller than Riku.

"I kissed Sora," Riku sighed out bluntly. The look on Terra's face was neutral, if not a little surprised and Riku revelled a little in making Terra look like that, usually he was either stoic or pleasant, this was a nice change to his emotional range. "I kissed him and he didn't take it well, and now he won't speak to me." Riku sighed again, getting this all out was nice. He'd made a promise to himself since returning from darkness that he'd be more open with the people around him (that weren't Sora or Kairi) and Terra seemed like a step in the right direction for that.

"I'm sure he'll come around, if he's anything like Ven he'll just have a lot on his mind and won't know how to approach the situation. He'll figure it out though, just give him some time." Terra pat a heavy hand on Riku's shoulder once again, a look of pity and understanding in his eyes. Riku glared.

"You sound like you know this from experience?" he queried, lifting an eyebrow at Terra with an accusing look, in response Terra blushed and went back to reading his book as both of them lounged on the grass in front of Riku's house.

Riku scoffed but he didn't say anything else, just lay back, hands clasped to cradle the back of his head and watched the clouds drift across the sky above them.

R-S-R-S-R-S

Sora sat cross legged on his bed, his light off and his eyes fixed on the sky outside his window, chin cradled in his palm. It had been 2 weeks, could he really go on avoiding Riku? The bigger question was, did he really want to? Riku was his best friend. They'd fought together, laughed together, cried together… well, Sora had cried but _Riku was there_. They'd been together since they were kids, not old enough to even consider the existence of other worlds. Sora wanted to be around his best friend more than anything, but Riku kissing him had sent him into a spiral of emotions and raised a lot of questions. Did Riku kiss him out of comfort? Did Riku like him? Did he like Riku? As more than friends? Did he still like Kairi? Why hadn't he known about Riku's feelings? How long had Riku kept this a secret? Sora groaned in annoyance at his overactive brain and flopped backwards, turning over to shove his face into his pillow and sulk.

A knock on his door made Sora peek from his spot and as his bedroom light flickered to life he saw Kairi smiling at him solemnly. She'd been coming to visit him every day for the past week, but Sora had been so caught in his own head he'd been avoiding her too. He was hoping it'd make her worry less, but it actually did the opposite. "Hey," she said, closing the door behind her and moving to sit on the edge of Sora's bed.

The brunet sat up, clutching his pillow to his chest now as he looked at his other best friend. He tried to smile at her but failed miserably and looked towards the window again instead. "Your mom said I could come up, she said 'maybe you can stop him sulking'" Kairi quoted and giggled, but she faltered when Sora didn't respond.

"Hey," she said again, shifting closer and placing her hand on top his folded ones to gain Sora's attention. He looked at her concerned face with a tired expression "you wanna talk about it?"

Kairi, much like Riku, had been Sora's friend for most of his life -ever since she arrived when they were 4 in fact- and Sora was always convinced that he had to protect her, because he loved her.

He knew it was true, he did truly love Kairi, she was his best friend, and they would never keep secrets from each other. But… how was he supposed to tell her what happened? How was he supposed to tell her he didn't know the true intentions of his own feelings anymore? Each of these questions added another crease to Sora's brow and Kairi knew she had to say something so Sora didn't hurt himself with all of this thinking. He was much more of an impulse thinker, most things were black and white with Sora, no grey area needed, but this was clearly different.

"I saw Riku today, he looked kinda… lost" she finished, waiting for a reaction from Sora but receiving very little for her efforts. "Did you guys have a fight?" she asked, concern lacing her voice. The pair had often bickered, being very competitive since they were young, but things had always resolved themselves quickly. Kairi knew her best friends well enough to see that that wasn't the case this time, and Riku had refused to talk about it so Sora was her only hope.

Sora sighed, looking down at her hand on his and contemplating it. He thought he'd feel more from the contact. His heart felt warm, but not light, not like it did when he was with Riku. Not like it once had. "Kairi," he started, though he wasn't sure how he was going to continue. He didn't even know what to say. He took her hand in his, holding it gently between his palms, and as he looked at her his expression was still one of confusion. "You know I love you, right?" He said it with conviction, it was something that had been left unsaid for years, something that had lingered between them for longer than either of them could remember. Kairi smiled sweetly at him.

"I love you too, Sora" she responded, as if relieved that she could admit it, Sora smiled back, glad that there was no longer this strange tension and he felt a sense of calm wash over them, the last secret that they could finally share was now revealed. Sora swallowed thickly, put pressure on Kairi's hand between his. He had to know how much he loved her. He had to know how much things had changed between them, between all three of them. Sora leaned forward slowly, making his intentions obvious to Kairi who leaned in too, meeting him to share their first kiss. It lasted a few seconds, lingered a little when they parted, then Sora leaned back first.

He looked at Kairi with a more understanding look in his eye, and she looked at him knowingly and a little relieved. "I'm sorry," Sora said, but smiled all the same. Kairi placed her hand in front of her face and giggled.

"I always wanted to know what that felt like, even if it wasn't meant to be," she smiled, taking her hand from between Sora's and shifting to hug her best friend. "I really do love you Sora," she told him, and he wrapped his hands around her in response.

"Me too," he smiled into her shoulder.

R-S-R-S-R-S

Sora felt lighter when he woke the next morning, the understanding of his feelings for Kairi lifted a weight off his shoulders that he never knew he'd been carrying. He was glad the two of them could still be best friends, and maybe it was the same with Sora and Riku. Sharing that kiss didn't mean that they couldn't be friends… right? Right.

Sora had coerced himself into talking to Riku again. First and foremost, Riku was his best friend, and he'd be damned if anything would change that. So, he got dressed, ate breakfast, left the house… and stopped still at his gate, his insecurity overwhelming him. What if Riku didn't want to be best friends? What if Sora couldn't express what he wanted to say to reconcile things?

He stood for a few more moments considering his options before he let out a sign and decided to go to the coffee shop in town to mull over his predicament. Nothing _had_ to be done today, as long as Sora was trying to make things right.

Sora had just sat down when his gummi phone rang. The device had hardly been used in the past couple of days and it surprised Sora when it rang. He fumbled to retrieve it from his pocket, looked at the name with a smile and hit the call button. Roxas's face appeared with its usual sullen look and man had Sora _missed_ his nobody. "What's up Roxas!" Sora beamed at the phone and Roxas scoffed at the happy-go-lucky boy on his screen.

"Hey Sora," he smiled, and in the back-ground Sora saw Axel wave making him laugh.

"It's good to see you, I'm surprised you called, is there something wrong?" Sora's tone became increasingly worried as he spoke and Roxas shook his head.

"Nah, we just thought we'd give you a call, it's been a while since we talked." Roxas replied as Axel wrapped an arm around the smaller blonde's shoulders and leaned into the phone.

"Sora, we miss you guys, and Roxas misses you the most," Axel winked, a wicked smile on his face.

"Hey, knock it off," Roxas laughed and pushed at Axel though there was no force behind it.

Sora watched the exchange and his mind began to race again, his brow furrowing as the pair on the phone bickered. "Can I ask you guys something?"

Roxas and Axel stopped their bickering to look back at the phone, not used to this tone on Sora, "yeah sure," Roxas replied.

"You guys are best friends," it was more a statement than a question, but Axel answered anyway.

"The best, best friends," he grinned.

Sora's face began to heat a little at the implication he was about to make but he knew he had to make it anyway. "But are you guys… like," he left a long pause, debating how to ask the next question "m-more than best friends?"

Both males looked at Sora in mild horror, Roxas's face turned an alarming shade of red and Axel in turn quickly excused himself claiming the house across the road was on fire, even though Sora could clearly see that they were at the clock tower.

After taking a moment to compose himself Roxas finally cleared his throat. "M-maybe… what's this about Sora?" he asked quickly, and Sora felt better knowing that Roxas and Axel were once in the same situation he was.

It was Sora's turn to turn red now, he hadn't thought about the fact that he would now have to explain things to Roxas. "Riku…" Sora struggled, looked around himself to make sure no one was eavesdropping on him, then brought the phone close to his face as he whispered "Riku kissed me" he blushed from his neck to his ears as Roxas looked slightly nervous and shrugged noncommittally.

"And?" he asked making Sora grow suspicious.

"Did you already know?" he asked, mild threat in his voice, something Roxas hadn't heard in quite a while.

"What? No, _no_ of course not," he laughed it off, but Sora wasn't convinced and glared harder. "Sora, why are you bringing this up? Do you need advice? I don't think I'm the right person to give it to you."

"Come on Rox, you gotta help me, I don't have anyone else to talk to about this," Sora pleaded, giving his patented puppy dog eyes through the phone.

Roxas sighed and rubbed his temple. "How did you feel about it?" he asked, and Sora shrugged.

"I dunno, it was out of nowhere, we were just talking, I looked up to watch the meteor shower, then he kissed me." Roxas looked on in shock.

"He _kissed_ you during a _meteor shower_?!"

"He did _what_?!" Sora heard Axel yell as he reappeared beside Roxas. Sora giggled.

"What?" he asked with a grin, unsure of why this was such a big deal.

"Sora, that's like the most romantic thing I've ever heard," Roxas sighed in distain and Axel scowled. Roxas looked at him with no understanding as to why Axel looked so upset. "What?"

"I asked you out under a sunset," he complained and Roxas rolled his eyes.

"It's _always_ sunset here, Axel" Roxas quipped back with amusement in his voice. "Anyway, we're off track, how did you feel about it Sora?"

Sora shrugged again, "like I said, I dunno."

Roxas sighed, "I'm sorry man, this is something you gotta figure out yourself, everyone thought you loved Kairi, so this is a shock to all of us."

"I thought I loved her too!" Sora tried to explain, "I mean, I do love her, but… not… like that. And the feeling's mutual" Sora concluded with a nod.

"Well, that's good, but it still stands that we can't really help. Why don't you just talk to Riku and work out how you feel from there," Roxas concluded.

Sora took a moment to think with a hum but nodded in agreement. "You're right, I should just talk to him," Sora concluded. "Thanks guys, I appreciate it."

Roxas smiled in response and chuckled at Sora's patented goofy grin "it's getting late so we're gonna go, talk to you soon Sora."

Sora nodded, "alright, have a good night guys," Axel waved again from behind Roxas and Sora ended the call.

Once they were both gone, Sora sighed heavily feeling like he hadn't really figured anything out from talking to his friends, though he was very glad that they had called. He sat in silent contemplation and sipped his coffee for a few moments before a tap on his shoulder took his attention. Sora looked up to see Riku standing with a coffee cup in his hand and his heart shot into his throat, thankfully Riku offered the first greeting "hey," he smiled, and Sora gave an unsure smile in return. _'He's your best friend, be normal'_ Sora told himself, and smiled with more conviction.

"Hey, Riku," he managed to respond and mentally gave himself a pat on the back for the achievement.

Riku visibly became surer of himself, and moved to stand in front of Sora, "cool if I sit?" he asked, and Sora nodded.

The silence stretched out between them long enough that those around them began to feel the tension emanating from the boys "mommy, are those boys gonna fight?" they heard one young girl ask her mother as they passed but the woman ushered her child away without a clear answer. Sora and Riku looked at each other before bursting into fits of laughter, earning a few looks of disdain from the other shop patrons.

Once they settled down Riku spoke, a content look on his face but an underlying look of concern too "I'm sorry about what happened" he started, and fidgeted with the disposable cup in his hands, Sora began to protest but Riku cut him short "we don't have to talk about it," he went on, to silence Sora "I just wanna hang out with my best friend," Riku finally said, slowly and honestly. He looked up at Sora from his coffee cup and the brunette smiled at him.

"Me too," he grinned, more ties loosening their grip on his heart. The relief he felt washed over him like a tidal wave. Riku smiled back and laughed light heartedly, feeling just as relieved as Sora at having his best friend back.

R-S-R-S-R-S

"Sora!" The boy in question spun on his heels as Tidus barrelled towards him and Riku, it had been a week since Riku and Sora had reconciled, and the pair were heading towards the beach to play volley ball ('no magic allowed' Riku had proclaimed much to Sora's dismay). Tidus came to a comical halt in front of the boys, his arms swinging at his sides to steady himself. "There's another meteor shower tomorrow, you coming to my place? You too Riku!" The tan blond exclaimed excitedly, bouncing on the spot as he waited for their answers.

"Uh yeah, sounds good Tidus," Sora smiled, they both turned expectantly to Riku who looked a little guilty.

"I'll pass, but thanks for the invite." Both Sora and Tidus looked at each other with disbelief then looked back at Riku who scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously.

Tidus finally shrugged "well, the offer stands if you change your mind. See you guys later," Tidus waved as he ran off and Sora and Riku continued their journey to the beach. It took Sora less than 3 minutes to finally voice his curiosity.

"You're really not going?" he asked, leaning to look at Riku's face properly as the older boy smirked.

"Apparently it's gonna rain, plus I'm gonna watch on the island, it's quieter there," Riku shrugged and in turn Sora frowned. Then a thought hit him, and he smiled enthusiastically.

"Ok, then I'll come with you!" He exclaimed, hands behind his head in his usual casual manner and Riku stopped in his tracks.

"You don't have to, if you'll have more fun with Tidus and the guys then you should watch with them," Riku reasoned, though more than anything he hoped that Sora would come with him. He'd set up something special to show the boy while they'd been apart, it kept his mind off of the kiss and kept him from bumping into Sora and creating more awkward tension.

Sora stopped too and smiled at Riku "you're my best friend Riku, I wanna see the meteor shower with you," he admitted wholeheartedly.

Riku's heart skipped a beat at the declaration, and in response he threw the volley ball at Sora, hitting the boy square in the face. Sora recoiled in pain, but all Riku could do was laugh.

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A/N: Aww reconciliation, ain't that nice UwU Sorry about the kiss, strangely worth it to write.

Reviews welcome. 3


	3. Chapter 3

Y'ALL READY FOR IT?! This whole fic has been bugging me for weeks and I sat for like 7 straight hours writing it, I hope the ending is good for you.

**Disclaimer: Stopped crying, but satisfied even if these characters don't belong to me.**

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Sora took a deep breath as he looked himself over in the mirror. It had been a week since he and Riku had made amends and that had given him enough time around the boy to really sort through his feelings.

He spent a lot of time dissecting the two kisses he'd shared with his best friends, worked out how they made him feel and really let his heart make the decision for him.

He really did like Riku, to the point he wasn't sure he could live without him. Riku was his light, the one who always brought him back from the brink, the one who understood exactly how he felt, the person he cherished more than anyone in the world… the person he loved more than even Kairi.

Just thinking about it made Sora's chest tighten until he thought he might burst. He needed to tell Riku how he felt but never knew how to do it, never thought he'd need to… until now. He just wondered if he'd have the courage.

"Sora, I made some snacks!" Sora's mother called up the stairs to her son and the brunette took one last look at himself, nodded with conviction, and hurried downstairs with his backpack in tow.

"Wait, let me memorise this moment," Riku said in mock surprise, stopping Sora in his tracks and the brunette pouted.

"It's not _that_ big a deal," Sora complained and Riku smirked.

"You're _never_ on time, so I think you'll find that it is" he quipped back. Sora stuck out his tongue in response making Riku laugh. "Come on, get in the boat" he gestured towards the wooden boat on the water.

Sora passed him, and hopped into the boat, seating himself ready for the journey to their island. "Don't dilly-dally Riku," Sora smirked, Riku shook his head with his own grin and passed the rope to Sora, getting into the boat and setting off.

"You row much faster than me, I should take your boat more often," Sora grinned as Riku raised his eyebrow sceptically.

"You literally captained a pirate ship," he responded but Sora shrugged, placing his hands lazily behind his head.

"Yeah but I didn't have to row the ship, just steer it" Sora concluded as they docked at the island, Riku threw the blankets at Sora in response. "Y'know, I'm getting real tired of you throwing things at me," Sora grumbled, but waited for Riku to join him on the dock before beginning their walk to the spot in front of their tree. Or at least that's where Sora thought they were going.

"Hey," Riku called half way down the beach and Sora spun to look at him, Riku pointed towards the sky above them where dark patches of cloud had formed, "it's gonna rain, I've got somewhere better to sit."

Sora tilted his head in confusion but followed Riku wordlessly, even though he knew there were no other open spaces on this side of the island except maybe the upper balcony, but it didn't seem like that's where Riku was headed.

The pair wordlessly climbed the ladders to the large treehouse just as the first drops of rain began to fall, and Sora, perplexed by Riku's choice, had to voice his concerns "you know we won't be able to see anything in the treehouse, right?"

"Oh?" Riku questioned in return, "well, either way it's started to rain so it's better than getting wet by the tree."

Sora would admit that was true, so followed Riku anyway and lay the blankets where the older boy told him to. Riku had also brought a small heater to keep them warm and to act as a small light source inside the dark room. Sora shivered as the warmth hit him, unaware of how cold he actually was. Riku wrapped a large blanket around his friend's shoulders and Sora smiled at him, a light blush dusting his cheeks and ears. "Ok, you comfortable?" Riku asked once Sora was settled and the brunette nodded. The elder boy smiled, walked over to the right side of the door where a rope Sora hadn't noticed hung limply, wound around a hook on the wall. Riku gave 3 strong tugs on the rope and the leafy roof opened to a beautiful view of the sky, the opening covered by glass so that the stars shone brilliantly through the roof of the room. Sora gasped in awe as Riku tightened the rope around the hook and sat down beside Sora, taking some of the large blanket for himself and warming himself by the heater.

"What do you think?" he asked as he opened a can of soda. Sora blinked a few times then looked back at Riku, who was paying more attention to his drink than his friend who was currently gawking at him.

"Did you make this?" he asked, and after taking a sip from his can he looked at Sora and nodded.

"Yeah, I was kinda bored for a couple weeks, seemed like a good idea," Riku admitted. A silence stretched between them and Riku laughed at the amazed look on Sora's face, "you'll catch flies," he proclaimed and gently took Sora's chin between his fingers and closed his mouth. He let his hand linger briefly, glanced at Sora's lips nervously and cleared his throat, forcing himself to remove his hand as Sora swallowed the lump in his throat. "Look, it's starting," Riku said, casting his gaze up to the rainy sky, the clouds had yet to cover the view they had inside the treehouse and meteors cascaded through the sky more beautiful than the rain. Sora turned his gaze up to the shower but found it much less interesting than watching the glittering reflections in Riku's eyes. He wondered if this is what Riku saw that night too, the beauty of the stars in his eyes.

Riku's gaze shifted, though his head remained lifted to view the sky. He looked at Sora, the boy shamelessly staring at him, possibly unaware he was even doing it until Riku dropped his head to face Sora. "What?" Riku asked, but Sora's throat had gone too dry, his heart was beating too fast in his ears for him to respond. "Sora," Riku laughed and tilted his head, "what's wrong?" he asked and smiled warmly at Sora.

But he couldn't say anything, couldn't think of the words, so he did the only thing his heart was telling him to do, he leaned in, bringing a hand to brush over Riku's cheek as he kissed him.

The contact was chaste, lingered longer than it should have, or maybe it lingered just long enough. Sora would have been the first to pull away, thinking he'd made a mistake, misinterpreted Riku's feelings all along, but Riku surged forward again, hand on Sora's cheek sliding into his hair, crashing their lips together in a longer kiss, one that set off fireworks in Sora's heart, something more amazing than watching shooting stars.

Riku took Sora's lip between his own, wetting it slightly with his tongue, setting Sora's whole body on fire, he moved his hand to Riku's neck and pulled him closer, shuffled to push their chests together, mingling their racing heartbeats. Riku's free arm snaked around Sora's waist and the smaller boy thought he would melt into nothing if he endured this much longer.

Riku was the first to break contact, pressing a few chaste kissed on Sora's bruising lips, and one more when Sora leaned in again, a smile gracing his mouth. Sora's eyes fluttered open slowly, still dazed and burning from the feeling of Riku. "You really like the roof that much?" Riku beamed, it was a smile bigger than Sora had seen for years.

Sora's responding grin could have lit a dark room. He gently pressed his forehead to Riku's and took a long, slow breath to slow his pulse. "The roof is amazing," he sighed happily and Riku laughed out loud.

"I thought you hated me, last time" he said honestly and solemnly, his mouth almost turned down into a frown, but Sora took his face in his hand again, kissed him in reassurance.

"I didn't know what to think. I guess I was just surprised, not because you kissed me, but because of how it made me feel, and, how much I liked it" Sora bit his lip lightly, Riku thought his eyes might pop out of his skull. "It took me a while to figure out just how much I like you, and I'm sorry that I kept you waiting."

Riku tightened his hold on Sora's waist, pulled him in for a long hug, "please don't apologise" he whispered, "I'm just glad that you like me too. Because…" he took a deep breath and pulled back to look into Sora's eyes. The meteors were still falling, reflecting in Sora's eyes and making Riku's heart swell "I've loved you for a long time," he admitted gently.

Sora stared at Riku's calm face, the realisation of what he'd just said overwhelming him. Sora's mouth agape again Riku smiled brightly and before either of them knew it, tears streamed down Sora's face "hey, hey Sora don't cry, it's not that bad, come on" Riku embraced him again, and Sora's free hand his Riku's chest in a gently thump.

"It's not that," he sobbed, "I just didn't think I would ever feel this way," he cried, hitting Riku gently again as the older boy stroked Sora's hair and kissed the top of his head. "I love you too," he whispered into Riku's chest and laughed between sobs.

R-S-R-S-R-S

Sora woke to light streaming in from the roof, his neck hurt but he was warm and had a… breathing… pillow? The brunette blinked slowly and shuffled slightly to look at whatever he was lying on. The realisation of what happened the night before during the meteor shower hit Sora and he smiled, huddling closer to Riku and taking in his scent. The movement woke the older boy who stretched lazily, the arm that had encircled Sora was now numb, but he didn't really mind, he was ready to continue sleeping with Sora in his arms when the other boy propped his chin on Riku's chest and smiled up at him. "G'morning" he greeted, and the sun hitting Sora's face made him look like an angel.

"Hey," Riku smiled and kissed Sora's forehead. They lay there silently, Riku's thumb caressing Sora's upper arm until Sora finally broke the silence.

"So… do you think our parents are gonna kill us for not telling them we'd be staying on the island last night?" he wondered guiltily and Riku smiled.

"Absolutely," he chuckled. "Should we get going?" he asked and though he could see the disapproval in Sora's eyes the brunette nodded, untangling himself from the blankets they'd slept under to sit up straight and stretch and rub his sore neck.

They made it back to shore as the sun rose fully across the sky and Sora tied the boat onto the dock. Packs and blankets collected Sora and Riku walked onto the concrete sidewalk and faced each other. "Hey, do you wanna come over for breakfast?" Sora asked, not yet sure he wanted to leave Riku's side even if they had spent the full night together.

Riku gestured towards his house "I should probably tell my parents that I haven't disappeared… again," he half chuckled, Sora did the same.

"Right," he agreed, his hand fidgeting at his side.

Riku took Sora's hand and smiled, leaned in, and placed a long kiss to Sora's lips. As they slowly pulled apart Sora sighed in content. "I'll pick you up in a couple hours, it's the weekend, why don't we sneak off somewhere in the gummi ship?" Riku offered. Sora's eyes lit up, Riku was never very mischievous so there wasn't a chance Sora was going to turn him down.

"Ok," he grinned, "then I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Riku agreed, but neither of them moved. Sora bit his lip again and Riku averted his gaze, letting go of Sora's hand so that he didn't linger any longer. "See you soon" he said again, kissed Sora one more time, and turned to walk away.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Sora still standing there, waving at him, and Riku grinned again, waving once. The next time he turned he saw Sora bouncing away towards his own house. He let out a long sigh of relief, looked up at the sky, and thanked all the gods he could think of for giving him his light in the darkness.

* * *

A/N: -3- cute kisses and lovey dovey boys. I may do a follow up and a spin off of that AkuRoku bit from last chapter because they're my OTP, but I don't know. Anyway! I hope you liked the fic!

Reviews always welcome. 3


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